The 'Uncharted' Film Is More of a Prequel to the Existing Games

It's been more than a decade since the Uncharted video game franchise was originally optioned to be made into a film, but it's just now hitting theaters. After many different writers, directors, and actors have been signed to (and then left) the project, Uncharted will now premiere on Feb. 18 with Tom Holland playing the franchise's lead, Nathan Drake, Mark Wahlberg shifting to the role of Victor Sullivan, and Ruben Fleischer of Venom directing.

When the video game franchise was originally slated for a theatrical release, only the series' inaugural game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, was out. Obviously, with the revolving door of names attached to the project, it's been through multiple iterations with multiple other titles to pull inspiration from.

But which Uncharted game is the film actually based on? Don't expect a close adaptation of this Naughty Dog franchise.

While the movie was originally going to be based on the first Uncharted game, it's since taken a whole new direction, straying a decent distance away from the narratives told in the multiple video games released since.

According to Tom, who spoke to IGN before the film began shooting, the Uncharted movie will be heavily based on Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, which was the last game to see Nathan Drake alive.

"Lot of the inspiration for the film has come from that game in particular," Tom told the outlet at the time, sharing that he was so excited at the prospect of portraying Nathan Drake.

For those hoping to see the movie follow the arc of the games closely, though, you'll be a bit disappointed. While inspiration for this film may have come from the fourth game, it seems that it veers far from the franchise's tale.

"There's definitely a lot of inspiration that's come from the games, but it's a young, fresh take on the character," Tom said. "Obviously, we didn't get to meet him all that much when he was younger, but it's a really great movie."

The film is said to feature flashbacks to a young Nathan Drake, which wasn't seen much in the video game franchise, and has taken on the role of a prequel to the series's games.

Since Uncharted takes inspiration from the video games without actually following the plot of any of them, an entirely new direction was taken for it — including bringing in new characters who weren't originally part of the franchise.

For starters, Nathan's brother, Sam Drake, plays a minor role in the fourth video game, but is much more prominent in the film. Polygon wrote that "The fragmented story makes it even more difficult for them to introduce and alternate between so many different characters."

It seems the film's strongest points are the action sequences, though even those have fallen short for some reviewers.

If you're hoping for a by-the-books take on this series, you may want to lower your expectations a bit before checking it out in theaters.